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Frederick Arthur Montague Browning was born on 20 December 1896 at his family home in Kensington, London. The house was later demolished to make way for an expansion of Harrods, allowing him to claim in later life that he had been born in its piano department. He was the first son of Frederick Henry Browning, a wine merchant, and his wife Nancy (née Alt).

Browning sat the entrance examinations for the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, on 24 November 1914. Although he did not achieve the necessary scores in all the required subjects, the headmasters of some schools, including Eton, were in a position to recommend students for nomination by the Army Council. The headmaster of Eton, Edward Lyttelton, put Browning's name forward and in this way he entered Sandhurst on 27 December 1914.[6] He graduated on 16 June 1915, and was commissioned a second lieutenant into the Grenadier Guards.[7] Joining such an exclusive regiment, even in wartime, required a personal introduction and an interview by the regimental commander, Colonel Sir Henry Streatfield.[8]

Initially, Browning joined the 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards, which was training at Bovington Camp. When it departed for the Western Front in August 1915, he was transferred to the 5th (Reserve) Battalion. In October 1915 he left to join the 2nd Battalion at the front. The battalion formed part of the 1st Guards Brigade of the Guards Division. Around this time he acquired the nickname "Boy".[9] For a time he served in the same company of 2nd Battalion as MajorWinston Churchill. Upon Churchill's arrival, Browning was given the job of showing him the company's trenches. When Browning discovered that Churchill had no greatcoat, Browning gave Churchill his own. Browning was invalided back to England with trench fever in January 1916, and, although only hospitalised for four weeks, did not rejoin the 2nd Battalion at the front until 6 October 1916.[10]

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He took command of three companies whose officers had all become casualties, reorganised them, and proceeded to consolidate. Exposing himself to very heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, in two hours he had placed the front line in a strong state of defence. The conduct of this officer, both in the assault and more especially afterwards, was beyond all praise, and the successful handing over of the front to the relieving unit as an entrenched and strongly fortified position was entirely due to his energy and skill.[14]

Browning was granted the substantive rank of captain on 24 November 1920.[18] He retained his post as adjutant until November 1921, when he was posted to the Guards' Depot in Caterham.[19] In 1924 he was posted to Sandhurst as adjutant. He was the first adjutant, during the Sovereign's Parade of 1926, to ride his horse (named "The Vicar") up the steps of Old College and to dismount in the Grand Entrance. There is no satisfactory explanation as to why he did it.[20] After the Second World War this became an enduring tradition, but since horses have great difficulty going down steps, a ramp is now provided for the horse to return.[21]

In 1931, Browning read Daphne du Maurier's novel The Loving Spirit and, impressed by its graphic depictions of the Cornish coastline, set out to see it for himself in Ygdrasil. Afterwards, he left the boat moored in the River Fowey for the winter, but returned in April 1932 to collect it. He heard that the author of the book that had impressed him so much was convalescing from an appendix operation, and invited her out on his boat. After a short romance, he proposed to her but she rejected this, as she did not believe in marriage. Dorman-Smith then went to see her and explained that their living together without marriage would be disastrous for Browning's career. Du Maurier then proposed to Browning, who accepted. They were married in a simple ceremony at the Church of St Willow, Lanteglos-by-Fowey on 19 July 1932, and honeymooned on Ygdrasil.[28] Their marriage produced three children: two daughters, Tessa and Flavia, and a son, Christian, known as Kits.[29]

Browning was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 February 1936,[30] and was appointed commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards. The battalion was deployed to Egypt in 1936 and returned in December 1937.[31] His term as commander ended on 1 August 1939; he was removed from the Grenadier Guards' regimental list but remained on full pay.[32] On 1 September, he was promoted to colonel, with his seniority backdated to 1 February 1939,[33] and became Commandant of the Small Arms School.[34]

Browning supervised the newly formed division as it underwent a prolonged period of expansion and intensive training, with new brigades raised and assigned to the division, and new equipment tested.[40] Though not considered an airborne warfare visionary, he proved adept at dealing with an apathetic War Office and an obstructionist Air Ministry, and demonstrated a knack for overcoming bureaucratic obstacles.[41] As the airborne forces expanded in size, the major difficulty in getting the 1st Airborne Division ready for operations was a shortage of aircraft. The Royal Air Force (RAF) had neglected air transport before the war, and the only available aircraft for airborne troops were conversions of obsolete bombers like the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, in particular, felt that the 1st Airborne Division was not worth the drain on Bomber Command's resources.[42]

In July 1942, Browning travelled to the United States, where he toured airborne training facilities with his American counterpart, Major General William C. Lee, who soon took command of the 101st Airborne Division. Browning's tendency to lecture the Americans on airborne warfare made him few friends among the Americans, who felt that the British were still novices themselves. Browning was envious of the Americans' equipment, particularly the C-47 Dakota transports. On returning to the United Kingdom, he arranged for a joint exercise to be conducted with the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment (2/503).[45] In mid–September, as the 1st Airborne Division was coming close to reaching full strength, Browning was informed that Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa, would take place in November. When he found that the 2/503, was to take part, Browning argued that a larger airborne force should be utilised, as the vast distances and comparatively light opposition would provide opportunities for airborne operations.[46]

The results of British airborne operations in North Africa were mixed, and the subject of a detailed report by Browning. The airborne troops had operated under several handicaps, including shortages of photographs and maps. All the troop carrier aircrew were American, who lacked familiarity with airborne operations and in dealing with British troops and equipment. Browning felt that the inexperience with handling airborne operations extended to Eisenhower's Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) and that of the British First Army, resulting in the paratroops being misused. He felt that had they been employed more aggressively and in greater strength they might have shortened the Tunisian Campaign by some months.[49] The 1st Parachute Brigade had been called the "Rote Teufel" or "Red Devils" by the German troops they had fought. Browning pointed out to the brigade that this was an honour, as "distinctions given by the enemy are seldom won in battle except by the finest fighting troops."[50] The title was officially confirmed by General Sir Harold Alexander, commander of the Allied 18th Army Group, and henceforth it applied to all British airborne troops.[51]

Browning observes training at Netheravon, October 1942.

On 1 January 1943, Browning was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.[52] He relinquished command of the 1st Airborne Division to Brigadier George Hopkinson, formerly the commander of the 1st Airlanding Brigade, in March 1943 to take up a new post as major-general, Airborne Forces at Eisenhower's AFHQ.[53] He soon clashed with the commander of the US 82nd Airborne Division, Major General Matthew Ridgway. When Browning asked to see the plans for Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, Ridgway replied that they would not be available for scrutiny until after they had been approved by the U.S. Seventh Army commander, Lieutenant General George Patton. When Browning protested, Patton backed Ridgway, but Eisenhower and his chief of staff, Major General Walter Bedell Smith, supported Browning and forced them to back down.[54]

Browning's dealings with the British Army were no smoother. His successor as commander of the 1st Airborne Division, Major-General Hopkinson, had sold the British Eighth Army commander, General Sir Bernard Montgomery, on Operation Ladbroke, a glider landing to seize the Ponte Grande road bridge south of Syracuse. Browning's objections to the operation were ignored, and attempts to discuss airborne operations with the corps commanders elicited a directive from Montgomery that all such discussion had to go through him. Browning concluded that to be effective, the airborne advisor had to have equal rank with the army commanders.[54]

In September 1943, Browning travelled to India, where he inspected the 50th Parachute Brigade, and met with Major-General Orde Wingate, the commander of the Chindits, an airborne special force. Browning held a series of meetings with General Sir Claude Auchinleck, the Commander-in-Chief, India; Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse, the Air Officer C-in-C; and Lieutenant-General Sir George Giffard, the GOC Eastern Army. They discussed plans for improving the airborne establishment in India and expanding the airborne force there to a division.[55] As a result of these discussions, and Browning's subsequent report to the War Office, the 44th Indian Airborne Division was formed in October 1944.[56] Browning sent his most experienced airborne commander, Major-General Ernest Down, formerly the 2nd Parachute Brigade commander until he succeeded Hopkinson, who had been killed in Italy, as GOC 1st Airborne Division, to India as GOC of the 44th Division. Down's replacement in command of the 1st Airborne Division by Montgomery's selection, Major-General Roy Urquhart, an officer with no airborne experience, rather than Browning's choice, Brigadier Gerald Lathbury of the 1st Parachute Brigade. The decision was to become controversial.[57]

Some saw him as "a ruthless and manipulative empire builder who brooked no opposition".[58]Brigadier-GeneralJames M. Gavin, the assistant division commander (ADC) of the 82nd Airborne Division, recalled that when he travelled to England in November 1943, the 82nd's commander, Major General Ridgway "cautioned me against the machinations and scheming of General F. M. Browning, who was the senior British airborne officer, and well he should have."[59] Major-General Ray Barker told him that Browning was "an empire builder",[60] an assessment with which Gavin came to agree.[61]

Browning assumed a new command on 4 December 1943. His Directive No. 1 announced that "the title of the force is Headquarters, Airborne Troops (21st Army Group). All correspondence will bear the official title, but verbally it will be known as the Airborne Corps and I will be referred to as the Corps Commander."[62] He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 7 January 1944, with his seniority backdated to 9 December 1943.[63] He officially became commander of I Airborne Corps on 16 April 1944.[64]

Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, commanding the British I Airborne Corps, standing by a Douglas Dakota of RAF Transport Command at Lyneham, Wiltshire, after being flown back from the Normandy battlefields.

I Airborne Corps became part of the First Allied Airborne Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton, in August 1944. While retaining command of the corps, Browning also became Deputy Commander of the Army, despite a poor relationship with Brereton and being disliked by many American officers, including Major General Ridgway, now commanding the newly created U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, in turn handing over the 82nd Airborne Division to Brigadier General Gavin. During preparations for one of many cancelled operations, Linnete II, his disagreement with Brereton over a risky operation caused him to threaten resignation, which, due to differences in military culture, Brereton regarded as tantamount to disobeying an order. Browning was forced into a humiliating backdown.[65]

When I Airborne Corps was committed to action in Operation Market Garden in September 1944, Browning's rift with Brereton had severe repercussions. Browning was concerned about the timetable put forward by Major-General Paul L. Williams of the IX Troop Carrier Command, under which the drop was staggered over several days, and not to make two drops on the first day. This restricted the number of combat troops available on the first day. He also disagreed with the British drop zones proposed by Air Vice Marshal Leslie Hollinghurst of No. 38 Group, which he felt were too distant from the bridge at Arnhem, but Browning now felt unable to challenge the airmen.[66]

Browning downplayed evidence brought to him by his intelligence officer, Major Brian Urquhart, that the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen and the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg were in the Arnhem area,[67] but was not as confident as he led his subordinates to believe. According to Major-General Urquhart, GOC of the British 1st Airborne Division, when informed that his airborne troops would have to hold the bridge for two days, Browning responded that they could hold it for four, but later claimed to Urquhart that he had added: "But I think we might be going a bridge too far."[2]

'Boy' Browning landed by gliders with a tactical headquarters near Nijmegen. His use of 38 aircraft to move his corps headquarters on the first lift has been criticised.[68][69] Half of these gliders carried signal equipment but for much of the operation he had no contact with either the British 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem or Major General Maxwell D. Taylor's U.S. 101st Airborne Division at Eindhoven. His headquarters had not been envisaged as a frontline unit, and the signals section that had been hastily assembled just weeks before lacked training and experience.[70] In his pack, Browning carried three teddy bears and a framed print of Albrecht Dürer's The Praying Hands.[71]

James Gavin, who in mid-August 1944 succeeded Ridgway in command of the 82nd Airborne Division, who in turn received promotion to command U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, was highly critical of Browning, writing in his diary on 6 September 1944 that he "...unquestionably lacks the standing, influence and judgement that comes from a proper troop experience.... his staff was superficial... Why the British units fumble along... becomes more and more apparent. Their tops lack the know-how, never do they get down into the dirt and learn the hard way."[72]

After the war, Gavin and his staff were criticised for the decision to secure the high ground around Groesbeek before attempting the capture of the Waal bridge at Nijmegen. Browning took responsibility for this, noting that he "personally gave an order to Jim Gavin that, although every effort should be made to effect the capture of the Grave and Nijmegen bridges as soon as possible, it was essential that he should capture the Groesbeek Ridge and hold it".[73]

Events took a different course. AdmiralLord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command (SEAC), had need of a new chief of staff owing to the poor health of Lieutenant-General Henry Pownall. Brooke turned down Mountbatten's initial request for either Lieutenant-General Archibald Nye or Lieutenant-General John Swayne. Brooke then offered Browning for the post, and Mountbatten accepted. Pownall considered that Browning was "excellently qualified" for the post, although the latter had no staff college training and had never held a staff job before. Pownall noted that his "only reservation is that I believe [Browning] is rather nervy and highly strung".[77] For his services as a corps commander, Browning was mentioned in despatches a second time,[78] and was awarded the Legion of Merit in the degree of Commander by the United States government.[79]

Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia: Mountbatten with General Chiang Kai-Shek (left) and Dr. T. V. Soong (right). In the background are Captain R. V. Brockman, Lieutenant General Frederick Browning and General Adrian Carton de Wiart at Chungking.

Browning served in South East Asia from December 1944 until July 1946; Mountbatten soon came to regard him as indispensable.[80] Browning had an American deputy, Major-General Horace H. Fuller, and brought staff with him from Europe to SEAC headquarters in Kandy, Ceylon.[81] SEAC headquarters developed an adversarial relationship with that of Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese'sAllied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA). Matters came to a head when Leese attempted to replace the victorious commander of the Fourteenth Army, Lieutenant-General Sir William Slim. In the resulting furore, Leese was relieved instead. Slim took over ALFSEA and was replaced as Fourteenth Army commander by Browning's friend, Lieutenant General Sir Miles Dempsey.[82] For his services at SEAC, Browning was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1946.[83] His last major military post was as Military Secretary of the War Office from September 1946 to January 1948.[84]

Upon the death of King George VI in 1952, the Duchess of Edinburgh inherited the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. Browning and his staff became redundant, as the Queen was now served by the large staff of the monarch. The domestic staff remained at Clarence House, where they continued to serve the Queen Mother. The remainder were reorganised as the Office of the Duke of Edinburgh, with Browning as treasurer, the head of the office, moving into a new and larger office at Buckingham Palace. Like the Duke they served, the office had no constitutional role, but followed his sporting, cultural and scientific interests. Browning became involved with the Cutty Sark Trust, set up to preserve the famous ship, and in the administration of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. In June 1953, Browning and du Maurier attended the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[89]

Browning had been drinking since the war, but it had now become chronic. This led to a severe nervous breakdown in July 1957, forcing his resignation from his position at the Palace in 1959.[29] Du Maurier had known of his taking a mistress in Fowey, but his breakdown brought to light two other girlfriends in London. For her part, Du Maurier confessed to her own wartime affair.[90] For his services to the Royal Household, Browning was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1953,[91] and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1959.[92] He retreated to Menabilly, the mansion that had inspired Du Maurier's novel Rebecca, which she had leased and restored in 1943.[93] In 1960 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall. Browning caused a scandal in 1963 when, under the influence of prescription drugs and alcohol, he was involved in an automobile accident in which two people were injured. He was fined £50 and forced to pay court and medical costs.[94] He died from a heart attack at Menabilly on 14 March 1965.[95]

Browning was portrayed by Dirk Bogarde in the film A Bridge Too Far, which was based on the events of Operation Market Garden. A copy of Browning's uniform was made to Bogarde's measurements from the original in the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum.[96] The Airborne Forces Museum, which opened in 1969, was for many years located in Browning Barracks, which had been built in 1964 and named after Browning. Browning Barracks remained the depot of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces until 1993.[97] The museum moved to the Imperial War Museum Duxford in 2008,[98] and Browning Barracks was sold for housing development.[99]

Murray, Williamson; Millett, Allan Reed (2000). A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN978-0-674-00163-3. OCLC43109827.